Legal Heat, Political Fallout: Why ED Summons To Vijayan's Daughter Matters Beyond CMRL Case
Legal Heat, Political Fallout: Why ED Summons To Vijayan's Daughter Matters Beyond CMRL Case Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 09, 2026, 15:33 IST
Legal Heat, Political Fallout: Why ED Summons To Vijayan's Daughter Matters Beyond CMRL Case Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 09, 2026, 15:33 IST The ED tightening the noose in the CMRL case could further strain Congress-Left ties at a time when the INDIA bloc is seeing an internal tug-of-war Rapid Read T Veena, Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned T Veena, daughter of former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for questioning in cases linked to the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL). Veena has been asked to appear before ED officials on June 12 along with eight others, including CMRL chairman and managing director Sasidharan Kartha. Veena and her company Exalogic, a software solution company, is accused of receiving Rs 1.7 crore from CMRL for services that were never offered. Legal Implications The case is significant for the agency since it allows a money-laundering probe in the absence of a predicate offence investigation. A predicate offence (also called a scheduled offence in Indian anti-money laundering law) is the underlying criminal activity that generates the money or assets alleged to have been laundered. CMRL had challenged ED’s FIR on grounds that no predicate offence existed.
The Kerala High court, however, allowed the agency to proceed. The absence of a predicate offence has also been a ground used by Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and others in the liquor policy scam. Political Implications The ED tightening the noose in the CMRL case could further strain Congress-Left ties at a time when the INDIA bloc is seeing an internal tug-of-war. Rahul Gandhi, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, had alleged an “understanding between BJP and the Vijayan government". “I want to understand why the CBI and the ED take action against opposition politicians but do not take action against the [then] chief minister of Kerala. I’ve got 36 cases on me. I have been interrogated by the ED for 55 hours continuously. Why has the ED taken no action against the chief minister of Kerala and his family? The reason is that they are working together," Gandhi had said. The allegations of “understanding" were repeated by Congress leaders ahead of assembly elections. Vijayan himself referred to the statements after ED raided his daughter on May 27. “I think the raids would have given mental satisfaction to many, especially to someone like Rahul Gandhi," Vijayan said.
ED Gathers More Documentary Proof In a boost to the ED investigation in the case, a special court allowed the agency access to 134 documents that were part of the Serious Fraud Investigation office (SFIO) probe in the case. In 2019, Income Tax raids at CMRL premises revealed fake expenses to the tune of Rs 130 crore. A complaint was made before SFIO based on the income tax department findings and Ministry of Corporate Affairs directed investigations by SFIO. Accordingly, SFIO started investigations and in a chargesheet filed on April 30 last year, it charged Sasidharan Kartha and 12 others with corporate fraud. “One of the fake expenses booked by CMRL is towards the payment to Smt. Veena, daughter of Shri. P Vijayan, Ex Chief Minister of Keralam. The Company of Mrs. Veena, M/s Exalogic Solutions Private Limited (One-Person Company), received fraudulent payments totaling Rs 2.78 Crores from CMRL under the guise of IT Consultancy Services. Further M/s Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited (EICPL) operated by Shri Sasidharan Kartha, MD of CMRL, extended loans to Exalogic totalling Rs. 50 Lakhs, despite Exalogic failing to make timely repayments," ED officials said. The central agency suspects that the documents seized by SFIO could reveal more about the alleged money laundering by the suspects.
The BriefWire